I am not impressed by pre-teens who slay

pussyfooterI disagree with you to a point. Ski babies just have no fear so they huck dubs, land them and build confidence.

The smaller thing isn't really an advantage in my eyes, its a disadvantage. Less strength, less momentum (i.e. kelly sildiru not clearing dew tour jumps).

Younger kids are usually much less consistent as well, one thing to consider as well.

mikemurdaWhat I hate about those kids is that they skip wayyyyy too many stages...and this will eventually kill freeskiing if the youth never learn the basics of the sport. my opinion.

mikemurdaWhat I hate about those kids is that they skip wayyyyy too many stages...and this will eventually kill freeskiing if the youth never learn the basics of the sport. my opinion.

NMMediaWhat do you mean they skip too many stages? All the little shredders I know that slay started skiing when they were like 3 or 4. They could all shred all mtn before they started skiing park. How is it going to kill freeskiing? If anything it'll progress the sport, the earlier you learn the farther you can take it.

YUNG_milksteAkYoung kids killing it is awesome to see. Only things that I dislike are parents that push their kids into stuff, (heard a dad telling his son he's HAS to do a dub) and kids who only do jump tricks.( saw a comp run of sliding rails with no tricks, and then a dub 12).

03gadeSmaller kids have a much lower swing weight which helps in all sorts of aerial maneuvers, not to mention the shorter and lighter skis that come with their size and the less reach they need to perform a grab.

jakeordieNah dude, everything works the same relative to them being smaller.....except the features. Imagine that last hit when you're only 4 feet tall that's wild. In a few years that kid will murder everything.

CyanicenineI think people are forgetting the real advantage younger kids have: No Responsibilities.

The older you get the more it becomes a balancing act to try and manage school, work, everyday life problems and still find time to go to the mountain.

Even if you are 15 or 16 living at home with your parents generously financing your skiing you have way more obligations at that age then you do at age 11.

It's this reason that I have slightly more respect for the older ski bums 18+ that are living out of a van eating dry ramen in the mountain parking lot. They are making huge sacrifices to do what they love. 11 year old timmy throwing dubs already isn't sacrificing jack. His parents are making it all happen for him, and he's too young yet to have huge life responsibilities.

theabortionatorNot really. On rails it's an advantage because it's hard to get off balance at that height.

NMMediaI would disagree with this. One of the first things you learn when you teach skiing is that young kids have a hard time balancing. It has nothing to do with skill, and everything to do with the fact they are mis-proportioned. At a young age children's heads are larger in comparison to their body than an adults, this brings their center of mass higher. So where an adults center of mass is probably a little lower than chest height. A child's is brought up high on their chest, approaching shoulder height, so they actually have a harder time maintaining balance.

KravtZThe level that kid is slaying at is unreal especially for his age let alone any age. You can't get that good wihout being a good skier in most disciplines. I would hope he has some amazing all mountain skills.

I would agree with you in general OP though...most of the younger generation who focuses on park (usually aren't even that good) are the ones killing the sport. I hate watching some kid throw a half decent park run and then make the sloppiest turns down the hill and act like they are the shit.

03gadeNico Porteous is the latest SuperUnknown semi-finalist. He is 13. Is it a good edit, sure, but it is mostly held up by the fact that people (such as Bobby Brown on facebook) make a big deal about the age, which happens all the time in action sports.

Being young is not a disadvantage, it is an advantage. Smaller kids have a much lower swing weight which helps in all sorts of aerial maneuvers, not to mention the shorter and lighter skis that come with their size and the less reach they need to perform a grab. Plus if you started skiing at 3, there's not a huge time to learn advantage over older skiers. A decade of 30 days a year is plenty time to dial tricks.

This shows up most prominently in the Xgames Megaramp. There's a reason 13-15 year olds are dominating the X-games big air these days, and why Tom Schaar can do a 1080 while Bob Burnquist cant.

marrowssince when is 13 pre teen mongo

03gadePlus if you started skiing at 3, there's not a huge time to learn advantage over older skiers. A decade of 30 days a year is plenty time to dial tricks.

KravtZThe level that kid is slaying at is unreal especially for his age let alone any age. You can't get that good wihout being a good skier in most disciplines. I would hope he has some amazing all mountain skills.

I would agree with you in general OP though...most of the younger generation who focuses on park (usually aren't even that good) are the ones killing the sport. I hate watching some kid throw a half decent park run and then make the sloppiest turns down the hill and act like they are the shit.

mikemurdaWhat I hate about those kids is that they skip wayyyyy too many stages...and this will eventually kill freeskiing if the youth never learn the basics of the sport. my opinion.